AEW Dynamite Review - November 25th, 2020

AEW Dynamite

November 25th, 2020

Daily’s Place

Jacksonville, FL

Commentators - Jim Ross, Excalibur & Tony Schiavone 

Okay this is almost 2 weeks old now but I missed it and I have to finish it for completion’s sake so fuck off 

1) Hangman Page vs. John Silver 

 

Big Meltz gave this four stars which is crazy, but this did in fact rule. These two are honestly kinda similar in style, not the biggest guys, although Page is taller, however they hit super hard and they threw some bombs here. Honestly everything you could want out of a sprint between these two while also teasing the possibility of Page joining Dark Order. 

Match rating - ***1/4

Kenny Omega is backstage with Alex Marvez. Omega says Moxley needs to leave the garbage wrestling at home next week if he really wants to prove himself as the best. Omega also says Mox’s life story warms his heart but that his dad “would probably beat the shit out of your dad” DAMNNNNN. I love Omega so much. 

Darby Allin vignette with him blowing up a car and saying that Team Taz will survive if he lets them. 

2) Powerhouse Will Hobbs (w/ Taz) vs. Lee Johnson 

NJPW: Best of the Super Juniors 2020 Night Seven Review - December 2nd, 2020

NJPW: BOSJ 27 Review

December 2nd, 2020

1) Tomoaki Honma & Satoshi Kojima vs. Gabriel Kidd & Yota Tsuji 

Stoked they are switching things up here with this opener pitting both young lions together against the veterans. One thing that doesn’t change however is the lariat of Kojima being the final blow for the young lions. 

Match rating - **1/4 

2) DOUKI (0 pts) vs. Yuya Uemura (0 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match 

Both men are mathematically eliminated from this tournament as they have no victories, but that makes this all the more fun as neither man wants to go out of this thing at zero points. DOUKI’s only victory last year came against a young lion so you know he’s frustrated being in that same position and the struggle Uemura gives him considering that adds a lot of drama. Really fun match that got the crowd believing in the false finishes and the possibility of a Uemura upset. 

Match rating - ***1/4 

3) Robbie Eagles (4 pts) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (6 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match 

AEW: Dynamite - Winter is Coming Review - December 2nd, 2020

AEW Dynamite

WINTER IS HERE

December 2nd, 2020 

Jacksonville, FL 

Commentators - Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur & Don Callis

1) Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal 

So this is for the ring that MJF notoriously won last year, I guess that means this will be a yearly thing. I fuck with it because MJF made it such a big deal. MJF says in a video pack he will “retain” his ring especially if he has Sammy Guevara & Wardlow by his side because “this is our ring” - well.. anyway this gets going and there are lots of names in this. Basically every mid card-upper mid carder. You’ve got Matt Hardy, Private Party, Miro, Orange Cassidy, Hangman Page and a bunch more. AEW reaaaally kills it with these battle Royal layout and this was no different. They touch on so many different things in this. From the tension between Shawn Spears & Scorpio Sky as they both refuse to get in the ring and stare down each other at ringside at the bell (which also is touched back on later when they got involved) to Hangman and Silver & Reynolds hitting some triple team offense and celebrating together which further teases the Page/Dark Order stuff. They packed so much little stuff in here and it was a blast. Jungle Boy gets cornered by Guevara, MJF & Wardlow in the end. He & Sammy have an awesome exchange before MJF shoves them both off the top rope which furthers the MJF/Sammy strained forced friendship. It looks like MJF & Wardlow are the last two and will face off next week per the rules, but they forget Orange Cassidy is still at ringside and wasn’t thrown out. YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. Cassidy comes in and stuns them both and throws Wardlow out! Orange vs. MJF next week FOR THE RING. Miro comes out PISSED about this as Chuck Taylor & Trent? celebrate with him. This felt so chaotic and was awesome. I love that they are keeping Orange Cassidy so involved in big stories. But yes, this was great! 

Match rating - ***1/4

2) Chris Jericho (w/ Jake Hager & Ortiz) vs. Frankie Kazarian 

This was pretty interesting. You get a buuuunch of Inner Circle turmoil and that’s pretty much what this was all about, but we got a fun match out of it too. I’m sure it was a treat for Kazarian to face Jericho and he proves it by nailing Jericho with the fucking flux capacitor off the top turnbuckle. INSANE spot. Jericho kicks out and they keep going at it. Kazarian locks Jericho in a Boston crab. Ortiz almost breaks it up but Hager stops him to avoid the DQ. Then MJF comes out with a towel and Sammy Guevara runs down to stop him. Meanwhile Jericho gets the ropes as all his stablemates argue, he hits the Judas effect on Kaz for the win. 

Match rating - ***

Post match, Jericho says he’s sick of the bullshit!!! Ahhh the S bombs on television! Jericho says they either all get along next week or Inner Circle breaks up FOREVER... dAMN! 

The Young Bucks are backstage doing an interview. Next week, they face Jack Evans & Angelico. If they can beat them, they get a tag title shot because they are fighting champions. The Acclaimed walk up and I don’t know much about them, but one of them starts rapping and making jokes about the Bucks’ book cover and Matt goes “didn’t somebody already do this gimmick?” which was hilarious. TH2 (Evans & Angelico) attack The Bucks from behind. Evans throws Nick in a garbage dump. Christopher Daniels & Kazarian make the save. TAG DIVISION HEATING BACK UP HELL YEAH.

3) Britt Baker (w/ Rebel) vs. Leyla Hirsch 

Apparently Hirsch has competed in AEW before but I’ve never seen her. She has a good look though. Awesome pre-taped promo from Britt during her entrance saying she’s keeping it clean around AEW and will be sending Leyla on a one way plane ticket back to Russia. Oof. Well atleast they gave us some story and meaning to care about this match and it actually turns out to be pretty decent! Rebel gets involved and is a big factor in this. Baker goes for the lockjaw but HIRSCH REVERSES INTO A CROSS ARMBREAKER!! Nice little spot of hope for Hirsch before Baker fights back to put her in lockjaw forcing a submission and getting her the victory. 

Match rating - **1/2 

THUNDER ROSA ATTACKS BRITT IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE BELL. I forgot to mention Britt mentioned Rosa in her promo earlier as some of the trash she took out referencing her attack on her last week. PULL APART BRAWL BETWEEN THE TWO LADIES. Referees, Jerry Lynn, BJ Whitmer, and others run down to separate things. 

4) Darby Allin & Cody Rhodes (w/ Arn Anderson) vs. Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs (w/ Taz)

God I love the Team Taz entrance music. I guess they’ve changed Will Hobbs name to Powerhouse Hobbs? Ok I guess. So yeah this feud has been awesome so obviously this was a lot of fun. Cody & Darby try to work over Starks, it doesn’t last long and Darby gets isolated and Hobbs & Starks just beat the shit out of him. Hobbs in particular looks amazing doing so. They build towards the super Cody hot tag. Cody & Darby make their comeback and get the victory. 

Match rating - ***

Post match, it all breaks the hell down. Arn Anderson throws blows at Hobbs for attacking Darby post match. Dustin Rhodes comes out. Brian Cage comes out. It turns into a dominant assault by Team Taz. All of a sudden the lights go out and... FUCKING STING. STING IN AEW. STING ON TNT FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE LAST EPISODE OF WCW MONDAY NITRO. This is massive. I was never a huge Sting fan. However his contributions and legacy cannot be argued. His WWE run felt very forced and just whatever. But this.. this felt special. Especially with Tony freaking Schiavone calling it. Hearing Tony yell “ITS STIIIIIIING” gave me chills and I haven’t even watched much WCW. Epic moment and wow. Sting staring down Darby Allin in the corner for even longer and more intently than he did Cody, Dustin, and Arn. Chills. Cannot WAIT to see what is next as they announce after this segment that Sting has been signed to a multi year contract with AEW by Tony Khan. 

Next week:

The Young Bucks vs. TH2 (Jack Evans & Angelico)

Dustin Rhodes vs. 10 

The Inner Circle Ultimatum 

FTR vs. Varsity Blondes (Brian Pillman Jr & Griff Garrison) 

Abadon in action 

Lance Archer & Lucha Bros vs. The Butcher, The Blade, & Eddie Kingston 

Sting speaks next week! 

Backstage, Hikaru Shida is not afraid of Abadon. 

5) Jon Moxley (c) vs. Kenny Omega - AEW World Championship Match 

And here we go. The biggest match in Dynamite history. The final moment in Omega’s rise back to singles prominence. The true peak in Jon Moxley’s AEW World Title reign. Such a massive match. Omega’s longtime friend, former NJPW commentator, and current Impact Wrestling executive Don Callis is on commentary. Mox & Omega work on the mat to start. Omega throws the first strike in the form of a chop in the corner and Mox fired up out of it and each one that followed as he got right in Kenny’s face in response. Just awesome shit early. They end up on the floor aka in Moxley’s zone and he dominates, throwing Kenny around and breaking the count so they can continue to brawl at ringside. Back in the ring, Omega starts going after Moxley’s knee. Mox has his leg hung up in the corner but manages to knock Omega down with a brutal lariat to make some separation. This match was at a pretty slow, but deliberate pace until about halfway through. They kick things into high gear and start busting out all their big stuff. I marked super hard for Kenny hitting Mox with croyt’s wrath which was a super good nearfall. Then comes the drama. Mox suplexes Omega into a heater at ringside. This brings refs down to check on him. Don Callis leaves the commentary booth. Mox pulls the referees off and tosses Omega back into the ring and starts wailing on him. Don Callis gets on the apron with a mic, Moxley knocks him down, but Omega gets the mic and the process and nails Moxley with it... full heel turn here for sure. Mox is busted open and Omega nails multiple versions of the v trigger on his bloody head. All of which look hella stiff. Then it’s the one winged angel for the victory. MAN. High drama there at the end, I don’t even mind the overbooking at all, this honestly felt so big and left me with so many questions and things to be excited about. I’ve watched it three times and I’m still buzzing at the replays on YouTube. Awesome match, but the real buzz comes post match. 

Match rating - ****1/4

Callis and Omega shuffle out of the arena as the commentators call this a screw job. Fans and employees are shouting at them as they head through the backstage area. Tony Khan is yelling from the gorilla position. They catch them for an interview as they’re getting into a car to flee and when asked what just happened, Don Callis says “You’ll find out from me & Kenny on IMPACT Wrestling on AXS TV next Tuesday night!” WHAT. THE. FUCK. 

Eddie Kingston hops on commentary at the last second mocking Moxley’s loss and says he wants Lance Archer now. Chaotic ending to this show in every facet and all in all, this might be the best episode of Dynamite yet as a whole. 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Smackdown Review - December 5th, 2002

WWE Smackdown

December 5th, 2002 

TONIGHT: Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge - #1 Contender’s Match 

WHAT A FUCKING MAIN EVENT HOLY FUCK 

1) Rey Mysterio vs. Albert

I remember this match from its coverage on the Rey Mysterio 619 dvd from back in the day. Very awesome squash that could possibly not even be called a squash? Rey is a star and hit a lot of stuff, but logically Albert just overpowered him and caught him up in the West Coast Pop and dropped him for the three count. 

Match rating - **1/2 

Albert attacks Rey Rey post match and I’m pretty sure this is where a legit injury takes place for Mysterio as his knee gets caught up in the top turnbuckle and he’s hanging from it for an extended period of time. And we all know how many injuries and surgeries Rey has had on his knees over the years. 

Bill Demott snaps on Funaki when he tries to interview him and says Tough Enough was just his job and he’s more than that.. or something. Who cares. 

Steph comes out and says she sacrificed herself for all the Smackdown fans in order to get Scott Steiner on Smackdown. She announces Brock will be here live VIA SATELLITE to explain his actions that led to her suspending him. 

2) Jamie Noble (w/ Nidia) vs. Crash 

Oh man.. here this goes. Nidia is on commentary and Noble is fired up because he keeps losing. Crash kisses Nidia and hits a STYLES CLASH ON NOBLE THE FUXK? So apparently I’m dumb and there was a time Crash Holly used a version of the Styles Clash called the “Crash Landing” as a finisher and he did so here for the win. 

Match rating - *3/4

Backstage, Dawn Marie tries to... comfort Torrie Wilson and tempt her with the thought that no one knows how to please a woman like another woman. 

3) Funaki vs. Bill Demott 

This stemmed from the backstage segment earlier. Big Bill destroys Funaki and hits a god damn moonsault. So yeah. 

Match rating - *3/4 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Raw Review - December 2nd, 2002

WWE Monday Night Raw

December 2, 2002

Replays of last week where Triple H assaulted Shawn Michaels during/after his title defense against Rob Van Dam.

1) Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley vs. 3 Minute Warning (w/ Rico)

AEW: Dynamite Review - November 18th, 2020

AEW Dynamite

November 18th, 2020

Jacksonville, FL

1) The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) (c) vs. Top Flight (Darius & Dante Martin) - AEW World Tag Team Championship Match 

This was an awesome match to open the show. It was very reminiscent of the story of Bucks/PP from the AEW Title tournament, but even more personal as Top Flight’s journey has been SO similar to the YB’s. Just classic Bucks stuff here and Top Flight looked great too. Bucks retain. 

Match rating - ***1/2

Post match, Jack Evans & Angelico attack Top Flight. The Bucks run them off and raise the hands of Darius & Dante.

WWE Monday Night Raw Review (kind of) - November 30th, 2020

I don’t watch much WWE these days. Little to no TV stuff, an occasional NXT viewing and I tune in for atleast a little bit of every PPV if not the whole thing. However, I saw Styles/Riddle/Lee advertised for the show tonight and decided to give it a watch.

I’ve had this happen a few times where I see a match I expect to be good and decide to try to watch, but most times I’m bored before the match even starts or left disappointed. Tonight was the first time that didn’t happen in god only knows when.

That’s not to say tonight’s show was amazing, hell, I didn’t even watch the whole thing. However, I did catch three of the matches and a segment or two. And what I did catch was good enough that I wanted to write this little review/article up about them. 

Randy Orton opened the show as a guest on Alexa Bliss’ Moment of Bliss. I immediately sighed as I have no interest in 2014 Orton/Wyatt rehash. However, this segment honestly kept my interest. Orton continues to be awesome in 2020 and hooked me as soon as he started cutting his promo on the similarities he has with the Fiend and his past with Wyatt. Orton says he found Wyatt’s weakness and now he has to find The Fiend’s and he thinks he has... it’s Alexa. Vintage Orton stuff. Lights go out and Fiend shows up. Orton has Bliss in his arms and tosses him back to the Fiend and backs away. As Orton walks up the ramp, he says “who’s laughing now?” — now, I enjoyed this segment. I highly doubt it will make me excited about this feud going forward, but I normally wouldn’t even care to give this the time of day so I’d say that’s a win. 

Jeff Hardy vs. Elias - Symphony of Destruction Match 

This match followed the opening segment. A Hardy/Elias feud is something nightmares are made of, but this match was super fun for TV. Hardy’s swanton off the top turnbuckle to the floor crashing Elias through a table was a sick finish and honestly pretty scary as Hardy’s head landed on the corner of the steel steps. 

Match rating - ***

Cedric Alexander (w/ MVP & Shelton Benjamin) vs. Xavier Woods (w/ Kofi Kingston) 

So much talent surrounding this match, it’s just a travesty it’s been so misused, mainly in reference to the Hurt Business because New Day are the goats. None the less, this was a hot little singles match. Both guys got their shit in and it was a breeze to watch. Cedric wins and leaves to celebrate on his own which was... weird. MVP and Shelton look confused.

Match rating - **1/2 

AJ Styles vs. Keith Lee vs. Riddle - #1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match 

First off, why the fuck is Matt Riddle now just known as “Riddle?” Okay.. now to the good shit aka this match. It isn’t a PPV caliber MOTY contender that it probably could’ve been given more time and drama considering the talent involved, but it’s pretty damn suffice. We get spurts of what made Riddle & Lee’s matches on the indies so special. Styles has some awesome striking exchanges with Riddle and is the perfect sly heel and provided a great dynamic for two big time baby faces like Lee & Riddle. Also, the backstage segment between Riddle & Styles before this match was a lot of fun too. Anyways, after a bunch of action, Styles pins Riddle to win and will go on to TLC to face Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship! 

Match rating - ***1/4

Drew McIntyre & Sheamus vs. The Miz & John Morrison 

And with the result of the triple threat, I had a feeling we’d see AJ pop up during this main event so I made sure to tune back in for it and I’m sure glad I did. To begin, this match was a lot better than I expected. They isolated Sheamus and Miz & Morrison had some awesome new offense I hadn’t seen them use before. They build towards an EPIC Drew McIntyre hot tag. He really does feel like the main event guy WWE has built him as even without a crowd. Just great shit, AJ interferes and lays out Drew with a flying forearm and... tries to get Miz to cash in his briefcase?!?!? This is brilliant. Not AT ALL what I expected from this match or aftermath. I expected a simple AJ interference spot however WWE actually threw us something exciting as it felt like Miz may cash in which always generates that buzz feeling especially since the WWE Title did change hands on TV a few weeks ago thus making it more believable that it could happen again. This also builds AJ even moreso as the coward heel who sees Miz as an easier opponent than big Drew. It’s beneficial for both parties and I love it. Having Omos carry AJ out to “save Drew from getting embarrassed” was the icing on the cake. This match is gonna rule. 

Really sorta refreshing show here? I left thinking hm.. I’ll tune into TLC for sure and this time I’ll actually have some backstory because I normally just catch up day of the PPV’s. Not sure if I’ll tune in next week, probably depends on what matches are announced, but this was a pretty enjoyable Monday night and they have a lot of promising stuff in the works, let’s hope it continues and delivers. 

NJPW: Best of the Super Juniors Night Six Review - November 29th, 2020

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 27

Night Six 

November 29th, 2020 

1) Tomoaki Honma & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata & Gabriel Kidd 

Not much to write home about here, same basic formula as all the other nights. Kidd starts here and Nagata gets the hot tag. Kidd & Kojima fiery finishing run, Kojima finishes him with a lariat. 

Match rating - **

2) Ryusuke Taguchi (4 pts) vs. Yuya Uemura (0 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match 

Well damn, I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did, but it honestly rocked. So many reversals & moments where it felt like Uemura was gonna pull off the upset over the veteran and finally earn some points in his inaugural BOSJ run. Uemura even locked in the ankle lock on Taguchi at one point which was sick. Another banging opener from Uemura and maybe my favorite Taguchi match from this tournament?

Match rating - ***

3) El Desperado (6 pts) vs. DOUKI (0 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match 

Steep history in Mexico for both of these gentleman so naturally they start with Lucha holds and stuff. Despy quickly starts going to the leg of DOUKI with that stretch muffler type hold he loves to use. Even going straight into it out of a spine buster. It’s not long before they go into some big shit including a risky spot on the apron and DOUKI BOMMMBBBB to the floor. DOUKI hits the daybreaker DDT for a near fall only to get caught in multiple submissions back in the ring that force him to tap. Damn this was getting good and I didn’t want it to end!

Match rating - ***1/2

4) Master Wato (8 pts) vs. SHO (6 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match 

This match turned out to be pretty strike heavy, especially early, which surprised me. SHO dominates this early portion for the most part before Wato hits a head scissors and a dive getting some offense going. SHO takes back over though and works the arm, putting him in the cross arm breaker and forcing a rope break. Wato hits his crucifix bomb for a near fall before things really turn into a slugfest again. I really enjoyed this match, it was verrrry vintage SHO and subsequently he gets the win and moves to 8 points! 

Match rating - ***1/4

5) Taiji Ishimori (8 pts) vs. BUSHI (6 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match 

AEW: Dynamite Review - November 11th, 2020

AEW: Dynamite 

November 11th, 2020

Team Taz opens the show. Ricky Starks looks like a fucking goat as usual. God I love him. Taz points out that Darby Allin is up in the stands watching things. He tells him to keep his "narrow ass" in the seat and puts over the importance of Cage/Sydal which is next. 

1) Brian Cage (w/ Taz & Ricky Starks) vs. Matt Sydal

NJPW: Best of the Super Juniors 27 Night Five Review - November 25th, 2020

NJPW: Best of the Super Juniors 2020 Night Five

November 25th, 2020

Yes, I skipped last night's World Tag League show. I'm just too fired up to not get into this night of BOSJ action after such a fun show on two nights prior. Also no gif's this time as I'm watching on my TV :/ 

1) Tomoaki Honma & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata & Gabriel Kidd

MAN. Gabe Kidd really got some shit in here and it was awesome. He fired off with everything he had against the vets and looked to have really stunned Honma at one point. Kojima secures the win for his team with a lariat when all is said and done, but this was a step up from their last few openers.

Match rating - **1/2

2) Hiromu Takahashi (6 pts) vs. Yuya Uemura (0 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match

Now this is awesome. Uemura has had solid/good matches with everyone so far so you KNEW he would kill it with the ace of the junior division aaaaand.. he did. Possibly the best tournament singles opener of the tournament so far? Takahashi really gave Uemura a lot and we got a near fall or two that made an upset feel possible despite it being pretty much a given and Kevin Kelly essentially saying that during their entrances which kind of annoyed me. Way to kill the vibe, buck. Anyways, yeah this was great. Takahashi forces Uemura to tap for the victory.

Match rating - ***1/2

3) DOUKI (0 pts) vs. Master Wato (6 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Smackdown Review - November 28th, 2002 (Thanksgiving Edition)

WWE Smackdown

November 28th, 2002

Columbia, South Carolina 

THANKSGIVNG SMACKDOWN

TONIGHT: SCOTT STEINER IS HERE

PLUS: LOS GUERREROS DEFEND THE TAG TITLES AGAINST KURT ANGLE AND CHRIS BENOIT 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Raw Review - November 25th, 2002

WWE Raw Review

November 25th, 2002

Charleston, South Carolina

UH OH THEYRE IN MY HOME STATE 

1) Chris Jericho & Christian (c) vs. The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D-Von) - World Tag Team Championship Match 

NJPW: Best of the Super Juniors 2020 Night Four Review - November 23rd, 2020

NJPW BOSJ 27 Night Four

November 23rd, 2020

We're now in what some call the dull stretch of the BOSJ as they are running in their smaller house venues. None the less.. we are here and let's get into it.

1) Tomoaki Honma & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata & Gabriel Kidd

These matches are getting slightly repetitive, but it's still harmless run of the mill stuff. Kojima pins Kidd with a lariat. Not nearly as much urgency or drama as some of the prior meetings, it just felt like a foregone conclusion that Honma & Kojima were winning. 

Match rating - *3/4

2) Taiji Ishimori (4 pts) vs. Yuya Uemura (0 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match

Huge match and opener here for Uemura. The entire tournament is huge for him, but this may be the biggest match of all against the current junior champion. They start working holds on the mat and grappling for an advantage. Ishimori starts working the arm and goes heavy on it from there for a while. This turns into a fucking great match. Uemura sells the arm so well, even when he's locking in the crab on Ishimori as he's only able to do a single crab instead of a full. Ishimori was so vicious and precise in his work on Uemura's arm, hitting a nasty shoulder breaker at one point. Uemura fires up and hits some AWESOME stiff slaps to the face of the champion and is filled with desperation the whole match. God, this was so much fun. Ishimori's tourney has been boring aside from the night one match against Hiromu, but this.. this rocked and I didn't want it to end as quickly as it did, but booking wise it made sense. Yuya is still young, but spurts like this show that the future is bright. 

Match rating - ***1/4

3) BUSHI (2 pts) vs. Robbie Eagles (4 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match

NJPW: World Tag League 2020 Night Four Review - November 22nd, 2020

NJPW World Tag League Night Four

November 22nd, 2020 

After a day off, the gods are back at it again with the fourth evening of World Tag League action. #njwtl 

1) Tomoaki Honma & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata & Yota Tsuji

Kojima & Nagata tear into each other to start. Tsuji gets in and goes IN ON THE VEterans. His exchange with Kojima fucking ruled and they actually had some back and forth. Unfortunately the flurry isn’t sustainable nor enough to finish off the legend and Tsuji eats another lariat and it puts him away like it did a few nights ago. 

Match rating - **1/2 

2) Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens (Bullet Club) (0 pts) vs. Shingo Takagi & SANADA (LIJ) (4 pts) - World Tag League Tournament Match 

NJPW: Best of the Super Juniors 2020 Night Three Review - November 20th, 2020

NJPW: BOSJ 2020 Night Three

November 20th, 2020

1) Tomoaki Honma & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata & Gabriel Kidd

This was about the same as the first meeting between these two teams mixed with the formula of last night’s match. Kidd eats the same lariat Tsuji ate from Kojima that turned him inside out and that’s the finish here as well. 

Match rating - **

2) El Desperado (2 pts) vs. Yuya Uemura (0 pts) Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match 

I’m excited at this on paper. Uemura is in the biggest run of matches of his life as he found himself being entered into the BOSJ for the first time as a young lion as a replacement for... El Desperado’s tag team partner and fellow junior tag team champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru. I also am on a new appreciation kick for Despy after his match with Hiromu and looking into the history so yeah. Uemura doesn’t charge Despy at the bell like he has all his opponents so far. They go back and forth, Despy throws Uemura to the floor and into the railing and gains a short advantage, but this entire match was pretty much a constant momentum shift. Uemura locks in the crab for a false finish. Despy looked desperate, no pun intended, and the crowd bit on it. Despy really gave Uemura more than anyone else in the tourney has here and it was a super solid showing. In the end, Uemura is working the arm and Despy pokes him in the eyes and gets him in a crucifix backslide pin for the three count.

Match rating - **3/4

3) Taiji Ishimori (2 pts) vs. DOUKI (0 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match 

Biiiig match for DOUKI here as he is facing the current Junior champion in Taiji Ishimori. DOUKI charges the champion at the bell and hits a DDT on the floor, but still ends up fighting from underneath in the early going of this contest. DOUKI hits a crazy ass looking move that I gif’d above and starts trying to mount a comeback. They trade pinning combinations and DOUKI tries to bring his bat in, Ishimori hits it with the belt and hits his finisher to win. Alright match, every Ishimori match besides the opener against Hiromu has just felt dull so far. 

Match rating - **3/4

4) Master Wato (4 pts) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (2 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match 

NJPW: World Tag League 2020 Night Three Review - November 19th, 2020

NJPW World Tag League 2020 Night Three

November 19th, 2020 

1) Tomoaki Honma & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata & Yota Tsuji 

Last night, Gabriel Kidd got his shot teaming with Nagata against the veterans. Tonight, Tsuji gets the honors. Nagata & Honma start off like last night but go into limb work instead of strikes... at first atleast. Things break down and yeah. Tsuji & Kojima in next. This has a similar formula to last night’s opener. They even do the same finish with a Kojima lariat ending things. Was gonna go ** on this, but Tsuji’s selling of the lariat is worth an extra quarter star DEAR LORD. Check gif for reference. 

Match rating - **1/4

2) Great O’ Khan & Jeff Cobb (The Empire) (2 pts) vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens (Bullet Club) (0 pts) - World Tag League Tournament Match 

Well, Owens & Fale do an attack during Khan & Cobb’s entrance which is easily the most exciting thing they’ve done in this tournament so far. Fale starts working over Khan in the ring at this point and I think about how there’s no way BC is winning this. Especially since the new Empire duo is just coming off a loss to Goto & Yoshi which I don’t think anyone expected. Anyway, Cobb gets in and gets things back under control by throwing Chase Owens around like a rag doll. They really just kinda went for it in this match as it’s over just as it starts. Cobb & GOK are MAD after their loss last night and just jobbed out Fale & Chase. 

Match rating - **1/4

3) Juice Robinson & David Finlay (2 pts) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare (0 pts) - World Tag League Tournament Match 

NJPW: Best of the Super Juniors 2020 Night Two Review - November 18th, 2020

NJPW BOSJ Night 2

November 18th, 2020 

1) Tomoaki Honma & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata & Gabriel Kidd 

Finally something a little different for these openers! 3 legends have been thrown in the mix with young lion Gabriel Kidd. Nagata & Kojima start with a heated exchange before Kidd gets in and goes at it with Honma before getting isolated by the veterans. Really fun match here with Kojima putting Kidd away with a vicious lariat. 

Match rating - **1/2

2) Yuya Uemura (0 pts) vs. BUSHI (0 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match 

I was honestly shocked they gave Uemura as much as they did here. He charges BUSHI at the bell and gets a couple of pin attempts for near falls. BUSHI fights back and locks Uemura in a crab and I honestly thought it was done there, but Uemura gets the ropes. They go back & forth for a few minutes before BUSHI puts him away to get his first 2 points of the tournament. Good showing for Uemura as he got a lot more time than he did on Night One and this had some fun drama down the stretch.  

Match rating - **1/2 

3) Robbie Eagles (2 pts) vs. Master Wato (2 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match 

They start out working holds on the mat and go into arm drags and shit that leads to a stalemate. Wato ends up getting the advantage and drops some elbows to the back of Eagles’ head. Eagles uses his speed to get out of that and flies around for a bit. This turned out to be quite the aerial showcase with several spots that made me wince. This tourney is my first time really seeing Wato and he has been a lot of fun so far. God these two really tore it up. Wato gets what I see as a big win over Eagles here following an excellent counter to Eagles’ 630 as Wato put his knees up and Eagles ate it full force then Wato hit from the top rope, what I’m assuming is his finisher which was a little to crazy for me to try and call some sort of cancun tornado flippy thing. 

Match rating - ***1/4 

4) SHO (2 pts) vs. DOUKI (0 pts) - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match 

NJPW: World Tag League 2020 Night Two Review - November 16th, 2020

NJPW World Tag League Night Two

November 16th, 2020 

1) Gabriel Kidd vs. Yota Tsuji - Young Lions Match 

These were part of the young lions class that opened up every G1 show so they’ve met A LOT. This isn’t much different than their other meetings, but also is pretty meaningless albeit harmless. Idk. Stuff happens and Kidd dominates most of it. Tsuji fights from under then catches Kidd in the crab for the submission victory. Excited for Honma & Kojima to get involved and mix it up with them on Wednesday. 

Match rating - *3/4

2) Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (Bullet Club) (0 pts) vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens (Bullet Club) (0 pts) World Tag League Tournament Match 

NJPW: World Tag League/Best of Super Juniors 2020 Night One Review - November 15th, 2020

NJPW World Tag League/BOSJ Night One Double Header 

November 15th, 2020 

The pandemic set everything back a few months so New Japan is combining the World Tag League and Best of the Super Juniors into one tour and in smaller blocks. This is one of the few joint shows with both tournaments hosting matches on the same event and is the kickoff event for both.

1) Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano (CHAOS) vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens (Bullet Club) - World Tag League Tournament Match 

It’s been a whiiiiile since we’ve seen Fale & Owens and I can’t say I’ve necessarily missed them. Owens pie faces Ishii to start and gets knocked on his ass before the classic bullet club tactics allow he & Fale to isolate the stone pitbull. Ishii fires back and throws Owens with a suplex and gets Yano in. Yano & Fale work for a bit. We get a clever bit for the finish with Owens going to break up a pin, Yano moving and then jumping on top of both Owens & Fale for a quick three count. This was exactly what it should have been because if this had gone much longer it probably would’ve been a huge stinker, but for what it is here, it’s harmless. 

Match rating - **

Fale destroys Yano post match. 

2) Master Wato (w/ Hiryoshi Tenzan) vs. Yuya Uemura - Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match

NJPW: Power Struggle 2020 Review

NJPW Power Struggle 

November 7th, 2020 

The fall out from the G1 Climax 30 and the final big stop before NJPW's biggest event of the year that happens every January - Wrestle Kingdom.

1) Toru Yano (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr - No Corner Pads Match for the KOPW Trophy 

Yano/Sabre is always fun. This stip is dumb and the KOPW thing is pretty much worthless aside from giving Yano something to do. Sabre has said if he wins this he will just throw the trophy in the trash. Some shenanigans early, but this is serious for the most part, Sabre works on the legs and keeps Yano grounded forcing him to wrestle. Yano hits a belly to belly for some separation but finds himself back in a hold moments later in the center of the ring. They roll to the floor and Zack has Yano in a leg lock across the railing and unbeknownst to Zack, Yano ties Zack’s laces to the railing and wins via countout. 

Match rating - **

2) Minoru Suzuki (c) vs. Shingo Takagi - NEVER Openweight Title Match 

AEW: Full Gear 2020 Review - November 7th, 2020

AEW Full Gear

November 7th, 2020

Jacksonville, FL

IT IS TIME. I am a few days late, scratch that, a week late thanks to work causing me to miss a small get together with my friends Mike & Donnie to watch this event live. None the less, I am just as fucking stoked despite seeing spoilers. And as a note, I also caught the main event live. 

Don Callis has joined Excalibur, Jim Ross, & Tony Schiavone on commentary for our opening match per request of Kenny Omega. 

1) Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page - Finals of the AEW Title #1 Contender’s Tournament 

Alright. We all know I’m a mark for the Bullet Club turned Elite turned AEW EVP’s. Omega & Page’s title defense against The Young Bucks earlier this year earned a five star rating from me which is a testament to how invested I am into this story. Admittedly it felt like this stalled out in the build, however the video package and seeing the two in the same ring for this high stakes match brought back some of the urgency and most definitely brought back the feels. They get into a collar elbow tie up early and wrestle around the ropes and get into it pretty back & forth early. Page sends Omega into the railing but OMEGA JUMPS ONTO THE RAILING AND MOONSAULTS PAGE for my first gasp of the match. Next crazy moment is Page with a pop up powerbomb on the entrance way followed by one in the ring for a big near fall. A couple big moves later and Omega wins with the one winged angel. Dang. I was hoping for more than this, but I guess that’s my own fault for wanting another epic from this story. My only guess is maybe AEW saw this story stalling and decided not to try and make this a melodramatic contest. Well, great opener none the less. Omega wins and Page looks very depressed as he is helped to the back. 

Match rating - ***3/4

2) Orange Cassidy (w/ Chuck Taylor & Trent) vs. John Silver 

WWE: 205 Live Review - October 9th, 2020

WWE: 205 Live Review 

October 9th, 2020 

This is the 200th episode of 205 Live. 

1) Ariya Daivari vs. Jake Atlas

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Smackdown Review - November 21st, 2002

WWE Smackdown 

November 21st, 2002

Hartford, Connecticut 

Brock Lesnar is pacing in the garage waiting on Big Show & Paul Heyman to arrive following the screw job they pulled on him at Survivor Series.

1) Rey Mysterio vs. Jamie Noble

For some reason, Rey, a wrestler who has never competed on Raw, is on the cover of Raw magazine this month.. and Taz has a copy of it on Smackdown promoting it. The logic doesn’t exist. But yeah this might be the best sprint/squash ever??? Like Rey was amazing at these in 02 but this one was for real flawless. 

Match rating - **3/4 

Brock is still pacing backstage. He goes into the men’s locker room and I don’t even know what’s funnier. John Cena’s reaction or Brock throwing Matt Hardy through a fucking wall when he tries to give him advice on what he could have done better at Survivor Series. 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Raw Review - November 18th, 2002

WWE Raw Review 

November 18th, 2002 

Bridgeport, Connecticut 

Eric Bischoff is waiting in the parking lot for someone. A limo pulls up and he gets super excited but turns out it’s Ric Flair and he’s disappointed. Bischoff says there’s a #1 contenders match that Triple H is in. Flair guilts him bc he knows he’s been in the hospital since last night and can’t compete. He says all Bischoff cares about is Raw and not himself or Triple H. Bischoff puts Flair in a match with Kane. Flair says he doesn’t sweat Kane and hopes Eric gets what he wants out of an episode of Raw without Triple H. 

AEW: Dynamite Review - October 21st, 2020

AEW: Dynamite Review

October 21st, 2020

The show opens with Wardlow on his way to the ring...

1) Wardlow vs. Jungle Boy - AEW Title #1 Contender’s Tournament 

WARDLOW. Aside from the expected Omega/Page final, Wardlow being involved might be what I’m most excited about as I feel he could be the real sleeper of this thing. I don’t think he’s wrestled on dynamite since the cage match with Cody? So seeing him here and only on special occasions I think helps build the appeal. And this was another good match from the big man as Jungle Boy flew and bumped around for him and they delivered a solid big man/little man back & forth contest. In the end, Wardlow is too much for Jungle Boy to combat and he eats the pin. 

Match rating - ***

2) Kenny Omega vs. Sonny Kiss - AEW Title #1 Contender's Tournament Match

EPIC KENNY OMEGA CLEANER ENTRANCE. They did everything in their power to make this feel big and it worked. Poor Sonny Kiss eats a V Trigger and the One Winged Angel and this one is over before it even gets started. Omega advances with a dominant showing in his huge return to singles competition. This makes sense on every level especially considering Omega's original opponent Joey Janela was pulled from the tournament due to having came in contact with someone who had COVID over the weekend. I just wonder if this was the plan in that case too? Guess we will never know!

3) Pentagon Jr. vs. Fenix - AEW Title #1 Contender’s Tournament Match

Hell fuckin yes. One of the best AEW TV matches to date. Penta & Fenix are brothers and a team, but have faced off numerous times and with the stakes this high it makes total sense. Eddie Kingston is on commentary and does a great job helping explain that as well. If you’ve ever seen these two go at it, you know what we got here. Just an absolute bonkers showcase. So much inane shit packed into 15 or so minutes. Fenix wins and will face Kenny Omega next week. 

Match rating - ****

4) Hangman Adam Page vs. Colt Cabana - AEW Title #1 Contenders Tournament Match 

Colt once again delivers some TV goodness and Hangman looks amazing, also per usual. They do some pretty good spots and gave Colt a little more than you might expect. Uno was at the entrance ramp watching on. Hangman wins with the buckshot lariat. 

Match rating - ***1/4

Back from commercial, Taz comes out with Brian Cage and Ricky Starks and cuts a badass promo on how unfair it is that Darby Allin is getting handed a title shot against Cody for the TNT Title at Full Gear. Ricky Starks then gets the mic and shows why he is honestly the bigger star compared to Cage. Awesome stuff from Starks as he vows to put Darby in the grave the next time they meet.

The Chris Jericho/MJF musical that I'm sure you've heard about by now airs and it is fucking hilarious and part of what makes AEW unique. They actually know how to pull of light hearted/comedy stuff without making you feel stupid for watching even though this entire thing is goofy as can be. Who knew Jericho and MJF would be the perfect pairing.

5) Britt Baker vs. KyLinn King

Extended squash for Britt here. But as I have said in previous reviews, she's improved so much that almost everything she's involved in is at the least somewhat enjoyable. Despite this being a squash, King didn't look bad and played her part excellently. Baker wins after a few minutes. 

Match rating - **1/4

NEXT WEEK: 

• Hangman Page vs. Wardlow
•  Cody vs. Orange Cassidy - Lumberjack Match for the TNT Title 

6) The Young Bucks vs. The Butcher & The Blade (w/ The Bunny) vs. Private Party vs. John Silver & Alex Reynolds - AEW Tag Team Title #1 Contender’s Match

This was a lot of fun as you’d expect. Silver & Reynolds and Private Party were honestly the highlights and if I’m being honest, I think I’d enjoy seeing them feud over the tag belts more right now than Bucks/FTR. That dream match feud has just lost its luster and I don’t even understand the build they’ve been going for anymore. But, yeah. Bucks win this. Oh, also, poor Alex Reynolds got knocked out cold and it was very scary. Cody even came out to check on him after the show went off the air. 

Match rating - ***1/2

Post match, FTR tries to share a beer with The Bucks which they obviously decline and slap out of their hands. It’s so hard to tell who’s supposed to face and heel here considering the past few weeks, especially on the Bucks’ end. 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Survivor Series 2002 Review - November 17th, 2002

Survivor Series

November 17th, 2002

Madison Square Garden - New York City

ALWAYS BY SALIVA IS THE THEME SONG FOR THIS JAWN and man that’s nostalgia overload.

Above the ring, we see the Elimination Chamber for the first time ever. 

1) Jeff Hardy, Bubba Ray, & Spike Dudley vs. Jamal, Rosey, & Rico - Tables Match

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Smackdown Review - November 14th, 2002

WWE Smackdown Review

November 14th, 2002

Columbus, Ohio 

Marc Lloyd catches Paul Heyman backstage to ask for an update on Brock’s condition after being thrown off the stage by Big Show last week. Heyman say he has a broken rib and has been coughing up blood but unlike Undertaker he will be at Survivor Series to defend the title, he just won’t be here tonight per doctors orders and his orders. Show walks up and says if Brock does show up tonight, he’s gonna call him out. 

SURVIVOR SERIES IS 3 DAYS AWAY 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Raw Review - November 11th, 2002

WWE Raw Review 

November 11th, 2002

Cincinnati, Ohio 

TONIGHT: Triple H vs. Booker T 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Smackdown Review - November 7th, 2002

WWE Smackdown Review

November 7th, 2002 

TONIGHT: Edge & Rey Mysterio challenge Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit for the tag team titles in a 2/3 Falls Match

1) Billy Kidman & Torrie Wilson vs. Jamie Noble & Nidia 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Raw Review - November 4th, 2002

WWE Monday Night Raw

November 4th, 2002

Boston, MA

The hidden camera thing is live to start the show. Bischoff is watching a VHS tape replay of his appearance on Smackdown where he was disguised as Vince and ended up de-masking & kissing Stephanie. He looks himself in the mirror and looks... confused I guess?? I don’t fuckin know 

HYPE INTRO VIDEO PACKAGE

SHAWN MICHAELS IS HERE TO MAKE H’s LIFE A LIVING HELL 

1) Jamal & Rosey (w/ Rico) vs. Jeff Hardy & Bubba Ray Dudley 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Smackdown Review - October 31st, 2002

WWE Smackdown Review

October 31st, 2002

HALLLOWEEN PARTY POPPIN OFF. Steph announces Brock/Rey Mysterio for later on! 

1) Chris Benoit vs. Edge 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Raw Review - October 28th, 2002

WWE Monday Night Raw

October 28th, 2002

Okay so first 18 minutes of this show is classic 2002 in the worst way. 10 minutes of more Katie Vick garbage aka Triple H having a mannequin in a casket pretending its a dead girl. Hurricane comes out and has H’s face photoshopped on a dude getting stuff pulled out of his ass in the hospital. Idk I enjoy dumb stuff that is fun in wrestling but this isn’t fun or funny, it sucks. And is embarrassing. 

Then we get a hidden camera in Trish Stratus’s locker room and Jerry is being all horny and annoying.

1) Rob Van Dam & Tommy Dreamer vs. William Regal & Lance Storm 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Smackdown Review - October 24th, 2002

WWE Smackdown

October 24th, 2002

Memphis, Tennessee 

Off the heels of No Mercy, it’s time for Smackdownnnn

TONIGHT: LOS GUERREROS VS EDGE & REY MYSTERIO PLUS BROCK LESNAR 

1) Matt Hardy vs. Rikishi 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Raw Review - October 21st, 2002

WWE Raw Review

October 21st, 2002

So, the WWE Network's description for this show had me confused as fuck because it said it was the final Raw before No Mercy, but it's actually the Raw after No Mercy. So after that mind fuck that took me five minutes to figure out, I finally got started on this.

Triple H has a message for 'the boys in the back' to start the show. He says he's untouchable and proceeds to say he has a tape to expose whether or not Kane slept with Katie Vick before or after death. This shit really is gonna keep going huh? Hurricane runs down to attack and try to take the tape. Flair stops him and H says he is gonna show the tape later whether Kane shows up or not. Lots of EDGY references to Katie Vick being dead. Well then. 

1) Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Nowinski

This wasn’t as terrible as you’d think. Jeff flew and bumped around. AL SNOW shows up with a chair, Nowinski grabs it, Hardy dropkicks it into his face and hits a swanton. 1..2.. Snow pulls Nowinski out and this leads to him getting the win. Ok?

Match rating - **

Eric Bischoff backstage, Stacy Keibler walks up and asks for something and Bischoff grants it, I can’t remember what it was. Big Show shows up and Bischoff says he’s facing Rico, Jamal & Rosey and there’s not a damn thing he can do about it.. 

Tommy Dreamer confronts Al Snow about his actions. Snow makes it known that it’s all about Nowinski being one of his Tough Enough “kids”. Dreamer says tonight they’re facing in a Singapore cane match. Nowinski comes through the curtain and says he doesn’t need Al’s help. Damn. Snow done worked himself into a shoot.

2) Lance Storm & William Regal vs. Bubba Ray & Spike Dudley - #1 Contender’s Match for the Tag Team Titles 

Spike starts with Lance and a backslide pinning combo for a near fall. Bubba gets in and we get a small hot tag from Spike a minute or two later. Meanwhile backstage, Kane has arrived. Hot run from Spike with a hurricanrana. It’s back and forth but Spike & Bubba get the win. 

Match rating - **1/4 

Jericho & Christian tell Trish to tell Booker & Goldust they aren’t suckas and basically insinuate that she slept her way to the top like Victoria has been saying. 

Bischoff announces the Elimination Chamber for Survivor Series but with no details on what the match will entail. 

BATISTA HYPE VIDEO 

3) Test vs. D-Lo Brown - Special Guest Ref: Stacy Keibler 

New look for Test and it appears he’s distancing himself from the Unamerican stable? Stacy slaps D-Lo at the bell and this turns into her favoring Test and counting slow/acting distracted when D-Lo has a chance for a pin. This costs him the match as Test boots his ass down and gets the fast three count. Test leaves and Stacy latches onto him so I guess this is gonna be a thing now. 

Match rating - *1/2

Lil interview with Victoria backstage. Book & Goldust come up to hype the inter gender tag match coming up. Goldust slaps Victoria on the ass as they leave. 

4) Booker T, Goldust & Trish Stratus vs. Chris Jericho, Christian, & Victoria 

This was loads of fun. Trish & Vic brawl to start. Everything Book & Goldust are involved in has a hot crowd so that always helps. Trish’s hurricanrana to Jericho (I think) off the top rope near the finish ruled, but it’s not enough to get her team the win as the Walls of Jericho finishes things.  

Match rating - **3/4

Probably one of the worst segments in Raw history airs here as Triple H shows the footage he has to “expose Kane” and it’s just him dressed up as Kane in a funeral home and I.. can’t even go further into detail or “review” of this terrible Katie Vick bullshit. Upset I even took the time to watch this. 

5) Al Snow vs. Tommy Dreamer - Singapore Cane Match 

Ahh. This kinda sucked. Nowinski comes down and tries to hit Dreamer with a chair sorta but fucks up and hits Snow, but doesn’t seem to care. Alright. Dreamer wins off that chair shot. 

Match rating - *1/2

6) The Big Show vs. Rico, Jamal & Rosey - Handicap Match 

Pointless Bischoff bullshit. Seeing Show throw these guys around was kinda fun though. He wins and goes backstage and Bischoff announces he’s traded to Smackdown and never wants to see him again. Show doesn’t care and tells Coach not to feel bad for him because “you’re the one who still has to work for that asshole.”

THA HEARTBREAK KID SHAWN MICHAELS IS LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY. He rolls up in a wheel chair in front of a huge hot crowd and cuts a really good ass promo about how he’s gonna he better and hunt down Triple H. He acts like he has trouble standing then JUMPS UP FOR A HUGE POP. HBK IS COMIN FOR THE GAME BABY. 

7) Triple H & Ric Flair vs. Kane & Rob Van Dam 

As boring and honestly bad as H was during this era, him and Flair together is always awesome. In this instance, they were such good old school tag heels. After an opening brawl, they isolate Van Dam for a while which leads to the Kane hot tag. H & Kane battle to the back and Van Dam & Flair go at it in the ring where Van Dam pins Flair with a frog splash. 

Match rating - **1/2 

Meanwhile, Kane and H are still fighting backstage through tables and into the parking lot. Kane chokeslams H onto the hood of a car with a Tennessee license plate and stuffs him in the trunk. Kane says “Now I’m gonna screw you, the question is will you be alive or will I wait til you’re dead...” Kane drives off to close the show. End scene. 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE No Mercy 2002 Review

WWE No Mercy 2002 Review

October 20th, 2002

1) Chris Jericho & Christian (c) vs. Booker T & Goldust - World Tag Team Championship Match

Fun little opener, but not quite the banger these two teams had on Raw a few weeks ago, if my memory serves me right. Lots goes on here though and the crowd is hot for all of it. Also, wild moment where Jericho goes for a springboard and the second rope breaks completely. In the end, Jericho & Christian sneak the victory and retain the titles.

Match rating - **1/4

Funaki interviews Torrie Wilson's dad who says "I DID NOT HAVE SEX WITH THAT WOMAN" in reference to Dawn Marie. 

2) Torrie Wilson def. Dawn Marie in 4:40

Match rating - N/R

3) Rob Van Dam vs. Ric Flair

These two couldn’t even wait for the bell to start going at it. Van Dam comes in hot but Flair uses cheap tactics to gain the advantage and did his vintage working over the baby face routine. The dirtiest player in the game was in full effect. None the less, after a few mins Van Dam fires back, gets his shit in and gets the victory. Not bad, but very short and textbook.

Match rating - **1/4 

4) Jamie Noble (w/ Nidia) (c) vs. Tajiri - WWE Cruserweight Title Match 

For all the idiocy of Noble & Nidia on Smackdown in the last week or two, this was pretty enjoyable. Very competitive and high energy match because at the end of the day Tajiri & Noble are both good workers despite the sports entertainment centric program they are given. Not to sound like a party pooper because it’s funny sometimes but watching this week in and week out has gotten a little old. None the less, yeah, good in ring stuff here. Both guys are so good. Nidia distracts big Brian Hebner when Tajiri clearly had the pin which leads to Noble being able to catch Tajiri in a pinning predicament for the win with some extra help from Nidia. 

Match rating - **1/2 

Chris Benoit says Chavo needs Eddie’s help. Eddie freaks out until he realizes that he thinks Chris is just trying to get him back for the other week. Except it actually is Chavo. Angle throws him out of the door and Eddie tries to attack him but officials restrain. 

Back to the Raw side of things and Lawler & JR at ringside and it’s CHAMP VS CHAMP TIME. They’re still hyping up Kane as a murderer. Wow. 

5) Triple H vs. Kane - World Heavyweight Title Match 

Yeah, this was whatever. A match between these two can only be so good especially in the midst of such a dumb story. So uh pretty much a dud. Flair helps H win and the sledgehammer is involved.

Match rating - **

6) Edge & Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit - WWE Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals 

Now here we mf go. This is it! The culmination of the tag team title tournament that Stephanie created for Smackdown. It’s been packed with some fun and great matches, but this one topped them all. From the opening moments of Angle throwing Mysterio around, all four men feeling each other out to the finishing run of big moves and near falls. It had that classic tag formula and feel plus there’s so much backstory with everyone from the obvious Angle/Benoit tension that was a centerpiece of the story of this match and the various singles matches all four men have had with each other recently - there was no way this couldn’t rule. They wore down Edge and gave Mysterio a hot tag about mid way through. It got bonkers for a second then Angle & Benoit shut shit down and isolated Rey Rey. The way they controlled this match and cut off the ring was fucking awesome and made for great hot tags for both of the baby faces. The second bonkers run that was actually the finishing run rules and I had no clue who won so I bit on a lot of the nearfalls. I also have to mention Benoit having Edge in the cross face and Mysterio nailing a 619 on him to break it up. Just sick stuff throughout this joint. Benoit & Angle getting the win definitely caught me off guard but it’s definitely well deserved. 

Match rating - ****1/2

7) Trish Stratus (c) vs. Victoria - Women's Title Match

This actually isn't terrible despite being in the worst spot on the show. The cool down spot in between two huge matches. Trish retains and everyone is happy. Onward we go.

Match rating - **

8) Brock Lesnar (c) vs. The Undertaker - Hell In A Cell Match for the WWE Championship 

This is another one of those classic matches that I saw not long after it happened. I still remember being a kid and seeing the black/white photos of Taker and Brock bleeding in an old WWE magazine. This was an absolute war. Both men are bleeding every fucking where. Heyman is bleeding too. They look like they've literally been in a war and the mat is soaked in blood by the end of it. The crowd pops super hard for Taker's false finishes near the end. But when all is said and done, Brock retains with an F5 after a fuckin fight. Classic match. 

Match rating - ****1/2

Final thoughts: Smackdown really stole this show. Two MOTY contenders/all time great matches that everyone looks back on. Raw.. well.. they had a fun tag title match.

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Smackdown Review - October 17th, 2002

WWE Smackdown

October 17th, 2002

1) Edge & Rey Mysterio vs. D-Von Dudley & Ron Simmons - Tag Team Title Tournament Semi Final Match 

Kicking off the show with tag team tournament action. Edge & Mysterio coming off a hot win last week over Tajiri & Brock Lesnar and keep that momentum going here. Rey gets isolated, Edge gets the hot tag and it breaks down for a minute. Edge hits the edgecution on D-Von for the win. 

Match rating - **1/2

2) Jamie Noble vs. Nidia - Special Referee: Tajiri

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Raw Review - October 14th, 2002

WWE Monday Night Raw 

October 14th, 2002

Montreal, Canada

Replay of H announcing the Katie Vick accusations toward Kane last week. This is followed by the double champ himself being asked about the accusations by Coach. Kane yells “THATS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS” and he & Hurricane head to the ring.

~OPENING VIDEO PACKAGE~~~ 

1) Kane & The Hurricane (c) vs. Christian & Chris Jericho - World Tag Team Title Match

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Smackdown Review - October 10th, 2002

WWE Smackdown 

October 10th, 2002

Phoenix, AZ

The Undertaker is in the parking garage waiting for Brock Lesnar to show up. They show replays of last week where Brock broke Taker’s hand and Steph announcing that and that the match at No Mercy was still happening and it’s HELL IN A CELL. 

Matt Hardy is out. Cole calls him a jackass. Hardy brags about his defeats of The Undertaker and goes as far as to say the reason Taker is in the parking lot and not out here is because he’s afraid of him etc. Taker comes down and they brawl. This shows Taker can go with the broken hand and even uses the cast as a weapon. Hardy gets split open and is bleeding. Wild seeing this just weeks after watching him in real time getting busted open by Sammy Guevara on AEW, a whole 18 years after this. So nuts. Hardy fights back and this brawl goes on longer than you’d think. Hardy gets a chair but Taker still overcomes. Finally some officials come down to separate but don’t really do the job. Taker miss Hardy and punches the ring post with his fucked up hand. OOOOF. Hardy escapes. 

Rikishi is out after the break. During his entrance we cut to Taker getting his hand checked out. The trainer says they need to do another X-Ray. 

Back to the ring it’s LAAAAATINOOO HEAT. 

1) Eddie Guerrero (w/ Chavo Guerrero) vs. Rikishi 

This stems off the first round tag title tourney match last week where the Guerrero’s beat Rikishi and Mark Henry. Lots of fuckery here as always with Eddie & Chavo around this time but it’s so much fun. Eventually Eddie taps out Rikishi. 

Match rating - **1/4 

Torrie is backstage looking through her lingerie. Her dad walks up and this is awkward. 

ANGLE AND BENOIT STAREDOWN IN THE LOCKER ROOM BACK FROM COMMERCIAL HOLY EPIC. Steph is talking them down and asking them to take the tag match tonight and the tournament seriously and to help establish the division. Then gets threatening with the whole suspension w/o pay thing. Benoit tells Angle to follow his lead tonight. They argue about who leaves the room first and Steph throws her hands up. 

Smackdown #1 announcer Funaki is with Rey Mysterio to hype up the main event with Edge & Rey facing Tajiri & Noble in the rah tournament. Nidia shows up and they start speaking to each other in Spanish. She leaves pissed and gets into an argument with Jamie Noble. Security kicks them both out? Okie 

Eddie & Chavo are riled up backstage about what they did to Rikishi. They say they will become tag champs at No Mercy. Benoit walks out of Steph’s office and it’s awkward. 

2) Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit vs. John Cena & Billy Kidman - Tag Team Title Tournament First Round Match

Okay this was good as fuck. Angle & Benoit play off the tension arguing from the jump. Cena & Kidman use this to get an advantage. This leads to several believable near falls including off a Kidman shooting star press. This forces Angle into helping Benoit and breaking up the pin. Eventually they overcome and win, but it got real competitive for a second. 

Match rating - ***

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman come to the ring with a woman named “Tracy” who apparently is going to enlighten us on who Undertaker truly is. Tracy claims Taker has been cheating on his pregnant wife Sara with her and lying about it the whole time. She says she has no idea he was married, much less with a pregnant wife. Taker says he doesn’t know who the hell Tracy is and gets slapped in return. Tracy walks off with tears in her eyes. 

Backstage- Brock, Paul and Tracy are leaving when Steph stops them and announces Brock will be Tajiri’s partner tonight against Edge & Rey Mysterio bc Jamie Noble hasn’t returned to the arena after being booted.

3) Devon Dudley vs. Billy Gunn

Ron Simmons is accompanying Devon and Chuck is with Billy. This is whatever. Simmons pulls the legs of Billy and Chuck super kicks his ass. This allows Billy to hit the famousser for the win. 

Match rating - *1/4

Undertaker is backstage on the phone with Sara swearing he doesn’t know who Tracy is. She hangs up on him and he’s pissed and in distress. Poor deadman. 

Chavo Guerrero is running down the hall yelling for Benoit. He says Kurt Angle attacked him and he is still attacking Eddie. Benoit runs down the hall only for Chavo to lock him in a room. After a bunch of noise, Chavo opens it up and Eddie walks out with a chair. What the fuck even lmao.

There's a lingerie contest that I skipped bc idk how to review that. Bye. 

Brock & Paul are headed to the ring. Brock asks for Paul’s phone and he gives Taker’s wife Sara a call saying he’s sorry that everything earlier had to be aired out publicly and says he’s here for her. When Paul realizes he called Sara, his reaction is hilarious.

4) Edge & Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar & Tajiri - Tag Team Title Tournament First Round Match 

The winners of this match will face Devon & Ron Simmons next week. This is the first interaction between Brock & Rey and Brock & Edge and it rules. The dynamic of Brock & Tajiri as a team is funny also. This doesn’t last long but is good fun while it does. Edge & Rey double drop kick Brock to the floor and hit a 619 followed by a spear for the win. 

Match rating - **1/2 

Brock attacks Rey Mysterio post match. Undertaker runs down and lays in some shots before Brock gets away. “In 10 days at No Mercy, there will be no way to escape inside Hell in A Cell....”